The state gave each one three years to improve and, at the end of this school year, time will be up.

Bowerman, Westport, Williams and York were classified as "focus" schools after years of lagging test scores. As a result, each school came up with a plan to get better, and extra resources were provided to help.

State test scores released Friday show York posted strong gains, Williams and Bowerman test results were mixed and Westport achievement levels fell significantly.

"We saw a pretty significant increase in two and a fairly significant decrease in two," said Superintendent John Jungmann. He added that "we're still digging into what the results tell us and why and aren't making any snap judgment."

Top leadership from each "focus" school provided an update to the Springfield school board in early summer. They talked about the detailed improvement plans, regular progress meetings, staff training and extra administrative support — designed to free up principals to spend more time in the classroom.

They told the board that additional support, including staff designated to work with disruptive students, is making a difference. Some are piloting a testing program that provides regular, in-depth feedback to teachers.

Jungmann, highlighting a school that made strong gains, said results start with believing children can achieve at high levels.

"You start with expectations and relationships and that leads to increased performance every time. You have the bar set high for every kid," he said.

The district has placed, or left, experienced principals at York, Williams and Westport. The Bowerman leader was brought in from another district three years ago.

"Our teachers have to know our kids individually, one-on-one, know what their strengths are and what their challenges are in order to read them," Jungmann said. "That's how we'll be more effective."

York Elementary

York Principal Lora Hopper said teacher collaboration has ramped up, and they're talking "to each other about what their needs look like, what their instruction looks like."

The school pushed better attendance on multiple fronts. A full-time school nurse helped. Teachers talked with parents about why it matters, and a reward system was put in place for kids who show up regularly.

"We tried to get the message out that we're a caring place and if you have needs that need to be met, we can help," Hopper said.

She believes beautification of the school building helped with school pride. This year, the school is starting a "workshop" model in reading, writing and math that will ensure every child gets one-on-one time with a teacher to set individual goals.

"We developed high expectations for our kids," she said.

Teachers also encouraged children to slow down and do their best work.

• 26.6 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in reading, up from 23.7 the year before. Math was 29.8 percent, up from 21.5 percent in 2013.

• 89.6 percent of students showed up at least 90 percent of the time last year, compared to 82.7 percent in 2013.

Williams Elementary

Williams Principal Jennifer Webb and her team have gained traction, if you look at the average scores for the past two years.

Once stuck near the bottom when compared to other district elementary schools, Williams is steadily moving toward the middle of the pack.

The school didn't make the year-over-year gains that York did, but it boasts the best scores of the four focus schools.

• 30.6 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in reading, down slightly from the year before. Math was 40.4 percent, down a little from 2013.

• Attendance at Williams dropped, hitting 79.6 percent. The year before, it was 84.3 percent.

Bowerman Elementary

Results at Bowerman were mixed. Principal Dana Webb said that news was rough after a year of working so hard.

"It kind of took the breath out of us," she said "We didn't see the scores we wanted to see."

Webb said scores were up two years ago, but the school didn't sustain that increase last year. She believes a series of "targeted interventions" and a priority on literacy will eventually pay off.

"Our kids are exceedingly capable, but they're just not achieving at a level they need to be achieving at, that we want them to be achieving at," Webb said.

Webb said teachers are boosting communication and partnering with parents to enlist their help to improve attendance and scores. She also credited extra support, including a behavior interventionist, for keeping more kids in class.

"Parents in our community want to know the reality of where we are," she said. "...We have some great ideas for how to move forward."

• 26 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in reading, down from 30.6 the year before. Math was 31.7 percent, up from 25 percent in 2013.

• 80 percent of students showed up at least 90 percent of the time, just a slight drop from the year before.

Westport Elementary

Last year marked the first year that Westport, long an elementary school, became a K-8 campus. The building was renovated and expanded to absorb students from the former Study Middle School.

Westport Principal Gary Tew has noted the school's fast growth. It gained students throughout the school year and is now one of the largest K-8 buildings in the district and closed to transfers.

The year was also marred by the abduction and killing of fourth-grader Hailey Owens.

District officials acknowledged that Westport had a difficult year, a year of grief and transition, but noted the focus is on boosting teaching and learning.

Westport posted the district's lowest elementary scores in reading and math. It did the same in middle school.

"We know change takes time and you have to be patient with that, especially when you're taking about restricting an entire campus and the grade configuration," Jungmann said. "You have to weigh that … however, it's unacceptable that we've dropped."

Associate Superintendent Justin Herrell said the district won't "get into the excuse game" about the test score drop.

• 12.9 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in reading, down from 24.5 percent in 2013. Math was 18.8 percent, down from 28.8 percent the year before.

• 79.8 percent of students showed up at least 90 percent of the time, down from 86.2 percent.

"What we can change is what happens day to day," he said. "What we know for sure is we have good leadership, good teachers."